The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity (e.g., greater bandwidth). In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology. Increasingly, public and private communications networks are being built and expanded using various packet technologies, such as Internet Protocol (IP). Note, nothing described or referenced in this document is admitted as prior art to this application unless explicitly so stated.
An often-used configuration in a network is to connect multiple Layer-3 routers via a packet switch (e.g., a Layer-2 bridge). In such a configuration, a multicast packet sent from a router to one or more other routers via the bridge are often sent out each of the ports of the router, except the port on which the multicast packet was received. A “packet flooding” condition is created when the packet is sent out of one or more ports of the packet switch on which no router receiving the packet needs the packet. This condition can consume, and waste, a large amount of resources of the packet switch and routers. Wu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,638, issued Jan. 25, 2005, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, presents one approach that may reduce packet flooding. Needed are additional approaches.